Comments Juno Editor/Paula Guran on 30 Oct 2007 12:12 pm
Butt Covers
As you know, we often discuss deep topics here at Juno and we feel the time has come to discuss, yes, butt covers. We show here only one subgenre — jean butts — but there are others you, as informed readers, are well aware of (low-back evening gowns, laced up the back, black-leather mini-skirts . . .).
We having nothing against bums on covers. Every one of these here are excellent works of art and most are good cover designs. We also realize that when doing a series there are only so many poses one can work with. As we have a theatrical background, we also know that “downstage center back-to-audience” is the second strongest position one can be in on the stage.
But we feel there are issues that should be addressed: Are there too many paranormal tuchas out there? Have artists gone haunch happy? Can you be a successful urban fantasy series with only frontals? Are rumps de rigieur for success these days? Does “kickassitude” mean ass must be portrayed at some point? What does derriere display mean to the modern reader? How many inches of hindquarters can be shown in the 21st century? What is the historical perspectives on the fanny? Is publishing being run by the seat of its pants? Just what is the back end on these deals? Are there any other synonyms for “backsides” we have missed?
We have yet to do a posterior cover here at Juno. We know the day will come when we are confronted with the decision “to butt or not to butt . . . ?” Or, perhaps, we have already missed the bottom boat and are lagging too far behind the crest of a fundamental wave to catch up?
Yet, as we approach attendance at the World Fantasy Convention (and other conventions) we do not see the best minds of our genre openly confronting these issues. Sadly, we do not hear public conversations concerning gluteus maximal messages.
We feel we need to ask you, the readers, for your input. So, please, express yourselves. Let us know what you think about these vital issues.
on 30 Oct 2007 at 12:38 pm 1.Marie Brennan said …
Those covers cut both ways: they signal very effectively to me what kind of book I’m looking at, but on the other hand, they really contribute to a sense of cookie-cutter interchangeability, not just for the covers, but for the books themselves. Oh, look, another urban fantasy with a tough but conflicted heroine who will no doubt have her choice of hot supernatural guys and probably fall into bed with some or all of them at some point. Yawn.
I don’t have anything inherently against that kind of story, and I’ve read and liked several. But it’s easy to see this boom as a bandwagon of Anita Blake clones, and the same-ness of the covers doesn’t help. Especially since the rear-shot approach generally leaves the woman faceless, and while I know the marketing theory that this allows the reader/viewer to project their own images (or themselves) onto the protagonist, I also can’t help but feel it depersonalizes those characters, robbing them of individuality. They become tight asses in leather or jeans or whatever, instead of people.
on 30 Oct 2007 at 2:59 pm 2.Carole McDonnell said …
Very funny post. I, for one, am glad that butts are once again entered the lexicon of beauty. Hey, if baby got back, let her show it.
I love guys showing their guns, mind you…and their hairless chests. Back in the day, sexy guys were all over the covers of romance novels intended for female readers. So maybe all these sexy butts are intended for male readers of paranormal romance. -C
on 30 Oct 2007 at 3:00 pm 3.Moondancer Drake said …
As a woman who admits to enjoying a well shaped goddess’ backside from time to time, I have to admit to kinda enjoying some element of these pictures.
Thought I also have to say I like faces. There is an element when the heroine’s back is to you where I start off feeling less connected to them than I would if I could see thier face. I want it all, eyes, a determined chin, an amazon stance, a naughty smile that says “I can have what I want, and don’t care what anyone has to say about it.”
on 30 Oct 2007 at 6:31 pm 4.Brad Hart said …
I am an ass man and love these covers. I can admit to reading three of the aforementioned books with great pleasure, and one not so much. They are hot women that kick ass. The whole purpose of fantasy is to draw you into a world that is different from day to day. Smart, Sexy, Powerful, Asstabulous women are not part of my day to day life. Like classic sci-fi covers with sexy women, these are no doubt meant to peak male attention, but I think it is just as much meant to attract women who wish they could be the heroine.
One unfortunately missed Butt Cover is Rachel Vincent’s Stray. Faythe ranks right up there in the world of being Asstabulous.
on 31 Oct 2007 at 7:43 pm 5.Susan Helene Gottfried said …
Put together like this, it *does* show a lack of creativity and individualism. But taken one at a time or mixed in with the other books here, it works.
I think there’s an element of power involved with these rear views.
on 31 Oct 2007 at 9:13 pm 6.Emily Leverett said …
I agree that it does make the books, and the heroines, seem interchangable. I don’t know that they are bad, per se, and as a fad, I’m sure they’ll pass on by. I like covers with a bit more on them. Covers that hint at the world, too. Of course, if it is urban jungle fantasy, then those butt showing covers, well, cover it, don’t they?
Maybe I just prefer frontal covers because I think my front is better than my back?
Either way, it still makes me happy that it is strong women on the covers and inbetween the sheets of the books!
on 01 Nov 2007 at 6:59 pm 7.catie said …
The only thing that comes to mind (beyond not having a problem with assitude) is the opening lyrics of Sir-Mix-a-Lot’s one hit wonder: “I like big butts and I cannot lie…”
on 02 Nov 2007 at 2:52 am 8.Taekduu said …
Personally, the butt of a chick does not turn me on. However, I have enjoyed the new mode in covers. Some of it seems very sexy yet tells part of the story. For example, in 3 out of 6 covers there is some sort of a weapon. I feel there is a sense of hidden danger and learning a little about what the heroine is about. The cover for on the prowl makes me afraid, chiclet has nice nails that just ripped into the brick wall. I don’t want to messs with her, kicking ass doesn’t even mess with her nail job. I want to be her BFF.
And seriously, who really wants to see a face. What if the model does not match the character?
on 03 Nov 2007 at 12:30 pm 9.Gwencafe said …
———————quote———————-
Marie Brennan wrote: Oh, look, another urban fantasy with a tough but conflicted heroine who will no doubt have her choice of hot supernatural guys and probably fall into bed with some or all of them at some point.
———————quote———————-
Boy did I laugh when I read this! I also started thinking that maybe this pithy summary of the genre captures urban fantasy’s broad appeal (as opposed to regular SciFi and Fantasy). The “kickassitude” women get to, um, experiment but not be seen as–well, we are talking about butts here–slutty. And if you say otherwise, well, they’ll kick your a**.
on 12 Nov 2007 at 6:49 pm 10.Shara Saunsaucie said …
You know, I just remembered that Carrie Vaughn’s coming fourth book is NOT a butt cover! It’s frontal!
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0446618756/ref=s9_flash_asin_image_10/002-9256272-5725658?ie=UTF8&coliid=IV64L835522&colid=YI4QDGUG0T3S&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_r=12YZTKFQHHAEDQXF09R0&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=279438701&pf_rd_i=507846
Her third book wasn’t a butt cover either.
on 21 Nov 2007 at 9:44 pm 11.nbm said …
Isn’t DEVIL WITHIN giving a rather mixed message, with the shapely rear accentuated by not one but two phallic additions (the torch raised at a rather ecstatic angle and the skyline tower right between her straddled legs)?
on 22 Nov 2007 at 7:19 pm 12.WriteBlack » Blog Archive » Butt, why is it a trend? said …
[…] You may already have noticed the trend of ass-tastic covers on paranormal/fantasy books. I don’t know which body-part cliche is most annoying, though. […]
on 14 Dec 2007 at 3:58 pm 13.Gregory Bernard Banks said …
What bothers me most is the uniformity. The cover for Minion by L.A. Banks is the only one reflecting a somewhat unique twist on the theme. All the other covers you could pretty much switch with one another and no one would really notice.
on 09 Jan 2008 at 11:41 pm 14.ZaZa said …
I like these covers. I’ve liked them without giving it much thought. Partly, I’m sure, it’s that they aren’t the cliched clinch cover, although, now that you mention it, they are becoming a cliche of their own.
That said, I still like them (wish my butt looked that good from behind) because that back-to-the-reader pose says to me that this woman is not waiting for anyone else to save the day, she’s right at the vanguard, ready to kick ass. When the monsters are attacking, do you really care what your savior’s face looks like? /;+) And there are a lot of frontal, headless body covers on more mainstream books, which is more disconcerting, IMO.
Still a lot of butt cheek there, but all good, if you see what I mean. Look at a selection of clinch or man-titty covers, and you’re going to see a lot of major ugly, or ridiculous, or overblown. These covers, in contrast, are across the board attractive by anyone’s standards, I’d think.
on 15 Jan 2008 at 2:37 am 15.SaraC said …
I just finished reading Patricia Brigg’s Iron Kissed, which is the first in the series to make the transition over to a butt cover.
http://www.amazon.com/Iron-Kissed-Mercy-Thompson-Book/dp/0441015662/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1200373575&sr=8-1
on 17 Jan 2008 at 1:27 pm 16.Kristen said …
I guess what disturbs me most about butt covers is the facelessness of the characters. They’re supposed to be these uberpowerful women who kick ass, right? But they can’t even look at the reader.
Now I’ll be the first to say that it doesn’t matter too much what you describe your characters as, the reader will make their own image of them anyway, but this facelessness on covers seems to strip these women of their strength and just turn them into a single body part.
Why don’t the covers show some more serious, ass kicking arms or something? You don’t really kill things with your butt, it’s the arm that wields the sword or whatnot…
on 18 Jan 2008 at 12:52 pm 17.Juno Editor/Paula Guran said …
Faceless heroines supposedly appeal to the reader. She is able to “see herself” instead. I don’r buy that really. *I* think it is simple — it is hard to match a description with art. For instance I love CLORKWORK HEART’s art — but the hair is totally wrong and I can’t do anything about it in this case. As a reader, I may be upset that the cover shows long brown hair and the character has short red hair.
Further — series books get more difficult to keep consistent with one “face.”
Practical reasons.
on 01 Feb 2008 at 3:52 pm 18.February’s Hot Topic: Cover Trends « Urban Fantasy Land said …
[…] (Behind the cut due to many thumbnail images) Juno Books took a look at butt covers recently, and Vampire Wire proposed that butt covers are the new legs and shoes. (Good call, Vamp!) […]
on 27 Jul 2008 at 12:22 am 19.The Fairy Monopoly « Madgirl.org said …
[…] And as for the book cover issue… well, that’s just silly. Maybe you haven’t noticed, but there’s been a big trend in urban fantasy covers featuring women with their backs turned. And just in case you’re not convinced, here’s some more. […]
on 06 Jan 2009 at 2:34 pm 20.Carrie’s Analysis of Urban Fantasy Part II: When Things Go Wrong « Filling the Well said …
[…] 1. The label urban fantasy. 15 years ago, urban fantasy was what we called stuff like Charles DeLint and the Borderlands series and all those rock ‘n’ roll elf stories. There was a whole other group of just plain vampire novels. Stuff like Tanya Huff’s “Blood” series, Chelsea Quinn Yarbro and P.N. Elrod. About 3-4 years ago, the label started getting used by marketing folks for “books with a kick ass heroine, vampires and/or werewolves in something resembling the real world, usually with lots of hot sex, and a cover showing the backside of a leather-clad woman with a tramp stamp.” Count the tramp stamps. On the other hand, I don’t know what to call this stuff. Bit lit (you know, like chick lit but with vampires? Harhar.) was proposed and thankfully seems to have died. Paranormal fiction. Paranormal romance. Supernatural fiction. Supernatural is actually the one I’ve been leaning toward, since romance writers use paranormal to describe anything that’s science fiction or fantasy. […]
on 08 Jan 2009 at 6:39 pm 21.Robert said …
Success brings imitation. The reason those books have similar covers is because some brilliant publisher looked at his numbers and said “butt” books are selling well.
Publishers are buying more butt art and artists like being paid.
What makes me sad is seeing all of the low quality semi-porn muddy the waters of a great genre.
on 03 Aug 2009 at 10:11 am 22.Covers and Nuance | GENREALITY said …
[…] On my own blog last week, I asked my readers to tell me how they feel about urban fantasy covers. You know, those now-ubiquitous covers of sexy women in sexy clothing, usually with a big ol’ tattoo and a big weapon of some kind? The proliferation of these covers is also discussed here, and in a nifty video primer by SciFiGuy. My conclusion? Love ‘em or hate ‘em, these covers definitely identify a certain kind of book, and readers ping to that. […]